


The Project X Chronicles: The Beginning

by DanDJohnMLover



Category: Ed Edd n Eddy, Rock Music RPF
Genre: Gen, Rock and Roll
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-10
Updated: 2015-04-28
Packaged: 2018-03-17 05:51:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3517829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DanDJohnMLover/pseuds/DanDJohnMLover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A local music festival is in danger of being cancelled and a group of rockin' teens save the day... or the festival. But it seems these rockers get more than what they thought. Exists in the world of Ed Edd n Eddy, but focuses on OCs. All OCs mentioned in the story belong to me.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Good Idea?

**Author's Note:**

> Here is the first chapter of The Project X Chronicles: The Beginning! Hope you like it and if you do, pass it on to others and see if they like it! There will be more coming! You are all in for an adventure, a rockin' adventure!

_All bands begin in some way. Some origins of bands can be simple; formed a band, played around in clubs for a while, got a record deal and now famous, etc and etc. But there are some origins that are different from most. This one band did not even want to get famous, they were just kids who loved to play music together for fun. When a nearby local music festival was in danger of being cancelled, these hard rocking teenagers found a way to save it. But that was only the start._

_This is the origin of Project X. This is The Project X Chronicles: The Beginning._

**The Project X Chronicles: The Beginning**

**Chapter 1: Good Idea?**

16 year old Van Culmer sat on his living room couch, lazily strumming his dark blue six-string Paul Reed Smith guitar. Next to him on the floor was a Marshall amp with the cord for it to plug into the guitar next to it. His parents weren’t home right now and he was bored, so what better thing to do then mess around with his favorite instrument? 

Van was a really talented guitar player for a kid his age. Heck, he could already do intense solos! He has been playing guitar for as long as he could remember as his dad Jerome used to play, but the guitar he had has been with him since he was 12. Van loved playing, he knew it was his talent. He even was in a band with three of his other friends… well, sort of. Reason is they just played music for the fun of it, they didn’t even have a band name, they didn’t want to get famous. They couldn’t write any songs so they did covers from various bands such as Metallica, Disturbed, Stone Sour, mostly hard rock and heavy metal bands; although they did have a few Def Leppard and Journey songs on their list. Van was the guitarist as well as one of the lead singers, Sarah Watkins was the bassist and the other lead singer, Corey Dominic was the drummer, and Raven Wells was the keyboardist, which was treated similar to a rhythm guitar player. They’ve only been playing together for a few months and they usually practiced in Van’s basement.

Van looked at his amp and had the urge to plug it in. He plugged in the guitar and strummed it, the vibrating sound coming out of the amp as he turned it on. After tuning the strings, he put the strap over his shoulder before turning on the stereo in the room and putting in Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s “Trouble Is” CD. Kenny Wayne Shepherd was one of Van’s guitar playing influences and the first song on the CD, “Slow Ride”, was his favorite to play. As the stereo was getting ready to play the CD, Van took off his black and blue baseball hat, letting his shoulder-length black hair loose. As “Slow Ride” began to fade in for the beginning few seconds, Van let himself wait. Then at the first cord of the song, he began playing along. Banging his head as he played the riffs with his hair flying around and him singing along to the song. 

_Well it's warm inside_  
_Let’s take a midnight ride_  
_I wanna show ya_  
_Ya really show ya_  
_It's an open road_  
_Let's see how far it goes_  
_I wanna show ya_  
_Ya really show ya_

_High flyin’ low_  
_Don’t you wanna go_  
_On that slow ride_

_Well it's cold outside_  
_But there's fire in your eyes_  
_I wanna hold ya ... Baby let me hold ya_  
_I won’t lose my nerve_  
_On those dangerous curves_  
_When we get rollin.. really rollin_

_High flyin’ low_  
_Don’t you wanna go_  
_On that slow ride_  
_Slow ride_

Van continued to move his head as he played the mini solo, then continued with the singing as well.

_Slide on in don’t stop to sleep again_  
_Lets get movin ya really movin_  
_Won’t ya hold on tight we can make it all night_  
_Let’s get movin ya really movin_

_High flyin’ low_  
_Don’t you wanna go_  
_On that slow ride_  
_Slow ride_  
_Slow ride_  
_Oh yeah_

The rest of the song was about a minute long guitar solo and Van was shredding through it, following it to how it sounded on the CD. As he was doing the solo, his parents Jerome and Kess walked into the house and saw their son playing his guitar again. They stood silently as they saw him shred. Then with the final strum at the end of the song, Van jumped into the air and threw his arms up. Jerome and Kess clapped for their son’s performance, which startled him.

“Mom! Dad! You’re home!” Van said as he turned around to see them. He quickly shut off the stereo and his amp. 

“We just stepped in as you were doing the solo.” Jerome chuckled. That’s when the chuckle faded and the smile went away on both him and Kess.

“Van… You and your friends won’t be able to go to the concert next Saturday.” Kess said sadly. 

“What? Why?” Van asked, wanting to know as he removed his guitar from his shoulder and set it down. Next week Van and his friends were going to go down to Cherry Falls, a city about a half an hour away from Peach Creek and where Raven lived, to an annual local rock music festival. It was titled The Cherry Falls Hard Rockin’ Falls Festival and it featured bands who were not really big, but big enough to not be playing in clubs or garages anymore. This local festival was basically where these bands could get themselves more exposed to new fans. The headliner band for this year was named The Nameless and after hearing some of their stuff online, Van and his friends were excited to see them live. 

Kess let out a sigh before she said, “On our way home, we heard on the radio that due to unknown circumstances… The Nameless will not be appearing at the festival and because of their sudden dropout… the festival is going to be cancelled altogether.”

Van’s eyes went wide, “What?! Cancelling an entire music festival because the headliner quit at the last minute?!”

“That’s what they said on the radio.” Jerome said.

“What about the other bands?” Van asked, pretty upset at the news. Both his parents just shrugged. He sighed, “Guess I better let the guys know.” 

Van grabbed his guitar and amp and headed to his room. After putting his amp in the corner and his guitar in its case, he picked up his cell phone and texted his band mates.

_Guys, come to my house when you can. Got bad news about next week. -Van_

\----------

“THE NAMELESS DROPPED OUT AND THE FESTIVAL IS CANCELLED?!” Sarah, Corey, and Raven shouted. 

“Yup…” Van said, popping the P at the end of the word. He and his three friends sat around the coffee table in the living room. 

“But… But… But… But… Why?” Corey stuttered. “Did they say a reason why The Nameless dropped out?”

“No reason, Mom just said they heard on the radio that they were not going to appear.” Van said. 

“And they’re cancelling an entire festival all because the headliner dropped out?” Sarah asked. 

“It’s an all day thing and there were tons of bands waiting to play.” Raven said. 

“This sucks. This sucks gumballs!” The blonde hyper boy shouted. “And I was so excited to get up at 7 o’clock in the morning when it started and see all the bands that were there!” 

“I thought you were excited to see how many orange sodas you’d drink and how many orders of nachos you’d eat throughout the day.” Sarah said with a laugh. “Remember how much cheese you were covered in when we went to the UPROAR Festival? You spent more than half of your concert money on nachos alone!”

“Hey! Nachos are really tasty at concerts!” Corey protested. 

Raven shook her head and sighed, “If only there was some way we could convince the people in charge of the festival to not cancel it. There are so many other bands and losing one band should not cause this.”

“It’s the headliner though, Raven.” Van said. “Headliners bring in the most money and people mostly go to see the headliner.” 

“Still not fair.” Corey said. 

Just then Jerome came into the room and slapped a few dollars on the coffee table. Startling the teens, they looked up at Van’s dad with confusion.

“You guys really are passionate about the festival, huh?” Jerome asked.

“Yeah.” Sarah nodded. “We just don’t think it’s fair for the many other bands that were in it because just one backed out.”

“Then I think you kids should voice your concern about it.” Jerome assured. “With this money, you guys or at least Van, Sarah, and Corey since Raven already lives there, take a bus down to Cherry Falls and talk to the organizers of the festival. Tell them how you feel and maybe it’ll make them change their minds. I bet you aren’t the only ones upset about it.” 

“Wow. Thanks, Dad.” Van said. “Only problem is where we can find them.”

“I’ll help you with that.” Jerome smiled and led the teens into the computer room.

\----------

The next morning, Van, Corey, and Sarah rode a bus down to Cherry Falls. Raven met them at the bus station and they had to find the building of a Mr. Chad Strone, who apparently was the main organizer for the Falls Festival. After walking around the city and asking a few people in the street, they eventually found the building and went in. 

“I apologize, sir, but the festival is cancelled.” Mr. Strone was seen behind his desk talking on the phone with someone. At first he didn’t seem like the type of person that could be into rock music; gray hair, black suit, face all shaven and cleaned up. But his hair was long and tied back in a ponytail and peaking outside of his right suit sleeve was the end of a possible arm tattoo. “I’m sorry but was our decision, sir. Good day.” He hung up the phone and sighed, “People just will not shut up about us cancelling the music festival.”

Just then the door of his office opened and his secretary wearing a white dress and having her brown hair up in a bun stood outside the door. “Mr. Strone? There are four teenagers wanting to see you.” 

“Do they have an appointment?” Mr. Strone asked. 

“No, but they said it’s really important.” The secretary said. 

“Let them in, Ms. Vega.” Mr. Strone said. 

“Yes sir. You four can go in.” Ms. Vega gestured the teens to go in. Van entered first followed by Raven, Sarah, and Corey. After they went in, Ms. Vega closed the door behind them. 

A small smile appeared on the face of Mr. Strone, “Well, what can I do for you young ones?” 

Van approached the desk with his friends following, taking a deep breath before saying, “Mr. Strone, we came here to talk about the Hard Rockin’ Falls Festival.” 

Mr. Strone’s smile instantly went away hearing those words. He rolled his eyes, “Oh no… we’ve been hearing complaints about the festival cancellation right when we announced it!”

“And those people have a right to complain, sir.” Sarah said. “You’re cancelling a more than twelve hour festival, featuring twelve or so bands who want to get themselves known, because the headliner dropped out.” 

“First off, The Nameless dropped out at the last minute, one week before the festival! And they had to because the singer had to go in for last minute throat surgery!” Mr. Strone annoyingly said. “Second, they were the HEADLINER! The MAIN ATTRACTION of the event! Most people go to these types of events to see the main attraction!” 

“But The Nameless were not a very famous band!” Corey protested. “They are just like the other bands at the festival!” 

“They were still big enough to be headliners, and now they’re out, we have no headliner and therefore no show!” Mr. Strone shouted. 

“That’s just selfish!” Raven shouted back, being the most serious one. “All of the bands ready to perform next week and to play in front of dozens of fans and now they don’t have a chance because ONE band dropped out? ONE BAND! They can still perform and the festival can still happen!”

The elderly man rubbed his forehead in frustration, then stood up, “Look you kids, you just don’t understand. The other bands are great, but The Nameless was the one good enough for a headliner spot. The others are not ready for headliner standards, so if by some miracle you kids find a band just as good as them by next Saturday, the festival will stay cancelled! Now get out! I am tired of hearing all of this! Out!”

“But this festival has happened every year!” Van tried to say.

“OUT!” Mr. Strone shouted, pointing to the door. 

Knowing they’ve been defeated and there was no way to win, the teens lowered their heads and slowly turned towards the door and headed its way. 

“Selfish jerk…” Sarah muttered to herself as they headed to the door. “Only caring about the money the headliner makes…”

But just as they were about to open the door, an idea popped into Van’s head. An idea that was indeed very risky, but he was willing to do anything to try and save the festival. He turned back at Mr. Strone, “Mr. Strone! I think I know of a band good enough to possibly replace The Nameless!”

The man looked up in sudden surprise, but he wasn’t the only one that was. Sarah, Corey, and Raven were looking at Van weirdly after he said that.

“Van, what are you talking about?” Corey whispered.

“Shh!” Van shushed him. 

Mr. Strone stood up again, a small chuckle escaping his lips, “Oh really? Then who is the band you just know thought of, young man?”

Van gave a gulp, looked around at his three friends, then said, “…Us. We’re a band and I think we can get into the festival.”

The three behind Van looked at him as if he was crazy. Mr. Strone looked at them in silence for a few seconds, then busted out laughing. 

“You kids really are that desperate to get the festival back up are you? Saying that you’re in a band worthy enough of being in it?” Mr. Strone laughed. “How old are you? 15? 16? Even if you really were in a band, there is NO WAY you kids would even be as good as The Nameless!” 

Van fearlessly looked straight at the laughing man, “You don’t believe us? Well Mr. Strone, we ARE in a band and according to the people that have heard us play we ARE good! We maybe even be good enough to not only be in the festival, but headline it!”

“VAN?!” Sarah, Corey, and Raven whispered through the corners of their mouths at Van.

“Really? Well then, how about tomorrow you kids come for an audition? Be at the high school auditorium at 3 o’clock sharp with your instruments, I’ll have amps ready for you. You play me three songs and if you’re good enough, not only will we put the festival back on, but you four will headline it! Deal?” Mr. Strone offered his hand. 

Van thought about it, then shook the man’s hand, “You have a deal! We’ll be at the high school at 3 tomorrow!” 

“I’ll see you then.” Mr. Strone said. The teens then turned around and officially left the room. _“They won’t get the festival back up, they won’t be that good.”_ He thought to himself as he sat back at his desk.

The four walked out of the building in silence, although Van had a bit of a smile on his face. But as soon as they stepped outside from the building…

“ARE YOU CRAZY?!” Sarah, Corey, and Raven yelled at Van.

“Guys! It just came to me and I had to do it!” Van said. 

“I know we’re trying to get the festival back, but THIS?!” Corey asked. “I may be an idiot at times but I know this is a stupid move!”

“We’re not even close to being as good as The Nameless, Van!” Raven said. “We’ve only been playing for a few months! We don’t even have a band name! We’ve only been playing music for fun!” 

“Mr. Strone is probably laughing in there thinking we’re joking!” Sarah said. 

“HOLD IT!” Van shouted, stopping his friends. “I know what I did was a risky move, but I was willing to try anything to get the festival back! I’m willing to do anything to get all of those bands their chance to perform! So here’s what we’re going to do. Sarah, Corey, and I are going to take the bus back home to Peach Creek while you Raven get your keyboard and have your mom drive you. We are going to pick three songs to play for the audition and we are going to practice them over and over and over until we get them right! Then we are going to come back here tomorrow for the audition and we are going to show that Mr. Strone we can do it!” Van took a deep breath as his three friends went silent. “We’re going to get this festival back, even if it means we try to get in ourselves. If we play and Strone thinks we suck, we can at least say it was worth a shot.”

With that said, Raven made her way home while the other three made it back to the bus station and headed back to Peach Creek.


	2. The Audition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroes have a chance to save the music festival. Are they good enough to do it? We shall see!

**Chapter 2: The Audition**

“We need to figure out what three songs we’re going to play.” Van sat with his band mates in the basement looking over the songs they played, trying to decide which three to play at the audition tomorrow. “Any suggestions?”

“Well I do know what we should do.” Sarah said. “The first song should be like an opener bands do at the start of their shows and the last one should be the butt kicker, the one that really gives people a good impression. The second one can be in between.”

“Hmm… how about “Battery” as the first song?” Corey suggested, sitting behind his green Pearl drum kit while twirling a drumstick between his fingers. 

Van shook his head, “No, we can’t even play “Battery” at it’s normal speed.”

“How about “Chain Reaction”? That one may be a good starter.” Raven suggested.

“Hmm… good one. Yeah, let’s have “Chain Reaction” be our starter.” Van nodded. “Now our second song?”

““King Nothing”! Let’s do “King Nothing”!” Corey instantly called out.

“No objections?” Van asked the girls, who nodded their heads in agreement. “Alright, “King Nothing” for second song. Now the last one. What song can we play that could possibly be a butt kicker?”

The four of them thought for a few seconds, then Sarah made a suggestion, “…Let’s do “Run”.”

“We just finished learning that one, Sarah.” Van said. “I don’t think we’ll be able to play it good enough.”

“We can practice on it today. Let’s give it a shot.” Sarah suggested.

“I agree with Sarah, let’s at least practice it and try it.” Raven said.

“Let’s do it!” Corey said. 

“Okay, we’ll give “Run” a try.” Van said. He stood up and grabbed his Paul Reed Smith. “Now let’s get practicing!” The others go their instruments ready and began practicing the three songs. 

\----------

“Okay, we’re going to play the songs once more.”

Corey, Sarah, and Raven groaned hearing Van say that. It was late at night and they have been literally practicing those three songs over and over again. Corey was drifting off to sleep with his head laying on the snare drum, Raven was beginning to get cranky with her slamming her fingers onto her Roland keyboard, and Sarah sat in a chair with her John Moyer signature black five-string Traben Havoc bass slumping on her lap. 

“Van, we’ve been practicing for hours…” Corey whined.

“I think the songs sound good, I think we can stop.” Sarah said. 

“Besides, it’s 11 o’clock. We should probably stop before the neighbors call your parents to tell us to be quiet.” Raven said. 

“I have to agree, Van.” Kess’s voice was heard as she headed down the steps of the basement. “From what I’ve been hearing from upstairs you sound perfect with the songs. I think it’s time to call it a night.”

Van let out a small sigh, “Alright guys, rehearsal dismissed.”

“I’m going to call my mom and tell her we’re done.” Raven said as she folded up the legs on her keyboard.

While Sarah and Corey got their equipment and made their way home (with Corey’s dad coming to help him take home the drum set) and Raven waited outside for her mom to arrive, Van went to his room to get ready for bed. After he changed into his boxers, he looked all around the walls of his room which were full of many posters and pictures from magazines of various guitars as well as famous guitar players. The pictures included John Petrucci from Dream Theater, Kirk Hammett from Metallica, Mick Thompson and Jim Root from Slipknot, and Dan Donegan from Disturbed to name a few. Yes, Van really was into his guitar playing and it definitely showed. 

Before heading into bed, Van opened a drawer in his desk and took out what looked like a page torn from a magazine. The page was a picture of a black six-string Ibanez guitar, shiny and glossed. This guitar is one Van has been wanting for over two years and he just recently decided to start saving his allowance money so he could buy it himself. The guitar itself cost over six hundred dollars and he only had two hundred saved. He wasn’t even close to getting that guitar. He loved his Paul Reed Smith, but he had it since he was 12 and he didn’t know how much longer it would last.

“One day I will get you.” Van whispered at the picture. “One day.” He put the picture back in the door and headed to sleep.

\----------

“Come on, Van, hurry up! We’re going to be late!” Sarah pounded at the Culmer house door. Sarah and Corey put their instruments in Jerome’s truck and they were just waiting for Van to get his guitar and they would be on their way to Cherry Falls.

“Be patient, you two. He’s just getting his guitar.” Jerome said sitting in the driver’s seat of the truck. 

“But we’ve got to be at the high school in a hour for the audition and we still need to pick Raven up at her place when we get to town.” Corey said. 

“Here I am!” Van ran out of the house, his guitar in its case and threw it into the back of the truck. “Let’s go. We’ve got an audition to go to.” And with that Van climbed into the front seat with his dad while Sarah and Corey climbed into the backseat. 

They made it to Cherry Falls in the usual half an hour, but they had to drive five more minutes into town to get Raven. As soon as Jerome stopped the truck in front of her house, Raven ran out, tightly clutching her heavy keyboard so she wouldn’t drop it. After putting it in the trunk, she squeezed in between Sarah and Corey in the backseat. Now they were off to the school. 

They had twenty-five minutes to spare when they arrived at Cherry Falls High School. Sarah, Van, and Raven grabbed their instruments and Jerome helped Corey with his drums and they ran into the school. They reached the auditorium and there was Mr. Strone with two more men. Mr. Strone wasn’t wearing a suit this time; he was instead wearing black pants and a black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up showing his arm tattoo and his hair was still in a ponytail. When they walked in, he seemed a bit surprised. Probably because they actually did have instruments. 

“We’re here for the audition, Mr. Strone.” Van said. 

Mr. Strone slowly nodded, “I’m honestly a bit surprised, kids. Not only do you actually have instruments, but you even arrived early. There are amps and microphones already on the stage, so go ahead and get set up and we’ll see how you are.”

Van and Sarah got on the stage, got plugged in, and tuned their instruments while Corey got his drum set put together and Raven put her keyboard up. After a few strums of strings, a few hits on the drums, and a few notes on the keyboard, they were set.

“Okay Mr. Strone, we’re ready.” Van said into one of the microphones with Sarah being in front of the other one. Mr. Strone and the two other men sat in chairs in front of the stage. Jerome sat somewhere in the middle, waiting to watch his son and his friends play. 

“Before you start playing, do you play originals or covers?” Mr. Strone asked.

“We play covers.” Van basically said.

“Alright. Go ahead and start.” Mr. Strone gave them permission to start.

“The first song we’re going to play is “Chain Reaction” by Journey.” Van said. He and Sarah looked back at Corey, who nodded his head and tapped his drumsticks together four times. Right when that fourth tap was done, the four began playing “Chain Reaction”. During the song, Van and Sarah alternated on the singing. 

_I bet you, she's the one_  
_Who helped you, come undone_  
_Those changes_  
_She put you through_  
_Long long distance_  
_You're overdue_  
_I bet you, she'd like to say_  
_She's changed you, in every way_  
_She's so sure_  
_Now she's on the run_  
_She ran a red light_  
_You jumped the gun_

_Chain reaction, shades of passion_  
_We surrender, lose control_

_So now you, lived a mystery_  
_You won't be_  
_Just one more casualty_  
_You stumble, before you fall_  
_Won't be the last time_  
_No not at all_  
_In motion, it's on her way_  
_The red light_  
_Somebody's got to pay_  
_Those changes_  
_She put you through_  
_Long long distance_  
_You're overdue_

_Chain reaction, shades of passion_  
_We surrender, lose control_  
_Chain reaction_  
_Strange attraction_  
_Love's a viper, steals your soul_

During the song, Mr. Strone looked like he was really focusing on the band playing. It was unclear what he was thinking so far.

_So now just where do we go_  
_Tell me where_

_Chain reaction, shades of passion_  
_We surrender, lose control_  
_Chain reaction_  
_Strange attraction_  
_Love's a viper, steals your soul_

The song ended with Van doing a one minute riff with it coming to a close. Jerome was heard clapping as the song finished and Van and Sarah looked down at Mr. Strone, waiting to hear what he thought. 

“Hmm… not bad, kids, not bad. But let’s see how the other two are.” Mr. Strone said. 

“Alright. This next one is “King Nothing” by Metallica.” Van said. At the mention of the song, the sound of Corey lightly hitting his hi hats was heard. Seconds later Raven held a note on her keyboard, followed by Sarah officially starting the song with the beginning bass riff and then Van joined in with the guitar. All four members came in and the singing began, once again with Van and Sarah alternating between verses.

_Wish I may_  
_Wish I might_  
_Have this I wish tonight_  
_Are you satisfied?_  
_Dig for gold_  
_Dig for fame_  
_You dig to make your name_  
_Are you pacified?_

_All the wants you waste_  
_All the things you've chased_  
_Then it all crashes down_  
_And you break your crown_  
_And you point your finger but there's no one around_  
_Just want one thing_  
_Just to play the King_  
_But the castle's crumbled and you're left with just a name_  
_Where's your crown, King Nothing?_

_Where's your crown?_

_Hot and cold_  
_Bought and sold_  
_A heart as hard as gold_  
_Yeah! Are you satisfied?_  
_Wish I might, Wish I may_  
_You wish your life away_  
_Are you pacified?_

_All the wants you waste_  
_All the things you've chased_  
_Then it all crashes down_  
_And you break your crown_  
_And you point your finger but there's no one around_  
_Just want one thing_  
_Just to play the King_  
_But the castle's crumbled and you're left with just a name_  
_Where's your crown, King Nothing?_ _Where's your crown?_

Van started his guitar solo, replicating it exactly like the original. Also at this time, Mr. Strone was looking surprised at the teens’ performance. 

_Wish I may, wish I might_  
_Have this wish, I wish tonight_  
_I want that star, I want it now_  
_I want it all and I don't care how_  
_Careful what you wish_  
_Careful what you say_  
_Careful what you wish you may regret it_  
_Careful what you wish you just might get it_

_Then it all crashes down_  
_And you break your crown_  
_And you point your finger but there's no one around_  
_Just want one thing_  
_Just to play the King_  
_But the castle's crumbled and you're left with just a name_  
_Where's your crown, King Nothing?_

_Nothing_  
_Oh, You're just nothing_  
_Where's your crown King Nothing?_  
_Oh, you're just nothing_

_Absolutely nothing_  
_Off to never, never land_

The song ended and once again Jerome clapped, but the two men with Mr. Strone clapped as well. 

“Wow… That song was… actually really good.” Mr. Strone admitted. He sat up more in his chair and signaled for them to continue. “Continue with your last song.”

“This one we’re going to give it our all.” Van said. “This is “Run” by Disturbed. Let’s show him, guys!” Corey hit his drumsticks together four times and they went right into the last song, their heads banging to the heavy beat. 

_Run and hide again_  
_I want to wait this time_  
_Don't wonder why you can't clear this final sin_  
_You know this story was over before it began_  
_This is a battle you're not going to win_  
_Welcome the end_

_I've spent a lifetime planning out your destruction_  
_You're never gonna win this another day_  
_An only lifetime planning out your destruction, with no other function_  
_You really don't know how long I've waited for your destruction_  
_I'm telling you, you just can't get away_  
_A whole lifetime planning out your destruction, with no other function_  
_You really don't know_

_You better run!_

_Ask me why again, where to go this time_  
_Revenge will be mine again_  
_Say good bye, my friend_  
_I'll run away this time and I'll not come again_

_There is no escape from my lair_  
_Welcome the end_

_I've spent a lifetime planning out your destruction_  
_You're never gonna win this another day_  
_An only lifetime planning out your destruction, with no other function_  
_You really don't know how long I've waited for your destruction_  
_I'm telling you, you just can't get away_  
_A whole lifetime planning out your destruction, with no other function_  
_You really don't know_

_There is no reprieve_  
_You don't dare to look in my eyes_  
_Will turn their gaze away in time_  
_You better run!_

During the last verse, Van and Sarah both let it out in their singing, giving it all they got.

_I've spent a lifetime planning out your destruction_  
_You're never gonna win this another day_  
_An only lifetime planning out your destruction, with no other function_  
_You really don't know how long I've waited for your destruction_  
_I'm telling you, you just can't get away_  
_A whole lifetime planning out your destruction, with no other function_  
_You really don't know_

_Welcome to the end_

_Run and hide again_  
_I want to wait this time_  
_Don't wonder why you can't clear this final sin_  
_You know the story was over before it f*cking began_

When the song ended, there was a few seconds of silence in the auditorium. Then Jerome stood up and clapped loudly, followed by the two men, then surprisingly Mr. Strone stood up and clapped as well. After the clapping subsided, Sarah asked into the microphone, “So Mr. Strone, how’d we do?”

Mr. Strone stayed quiet for a little longer, then answered with, “Take down your equipment and then I’ll tell you.” 

Jerome went up the stage and helped the teens get their equipment off and back into the truck. As they walked back into the auditorium after they got their equipment put up, Sarah whispered to her band mates, “We either did a good job and they’re going to put us in, or we didn’t do good enough…” 

“We probably didn’t do good enough…” Corey sighed.

“We’ll see, guys.” Raven said. 

They walked back into the auditorium and approached Mr. Strone, waiting for his response. 

Mr. Strone looked at the band and gave a small sigh, “Kids, you really surprised me with this audition. I thought you were just making things up to try and get the festival back, but you proved me wrong. You kids really do have a great musical talent for someone your age. Those three songs you played were good enough for me and my observers, good enough that it blew us away. Therefore… the Hard Rockin’ Falls Festival is back in business and you four will headline it!” 

Right there, the teens’ jaws literally dropped. “You serious?!” They shouted. 

Mr. Strone nodded with a smile, “You kids impressed me big time, I’m indeed serious.”

“Holy…” That’s when the band started hugging each other happily.

“We did it! We saved the festival!” Corey shouted. 

“That we did!” Van shouted.

“Wait. There’s one thing I forgot to ask before you played.” Mr. Strone interrupted the celebration. “What’s your band name?”

A sound of glass breaking was heard inside each of the band members’ heads as they stood wide eyed at the question. They were so busy practicing their songs making sure they’re perfect, they forgot to think of a band name yesterday! “Uhhhhhh…” They turned their heads, looking at each other.

“Excuse us for a second.” Van said before leading his friends outside of the auditorium. Once out of earshot from Mr. Strone, “We forgot to think of a name!” 

“No duh!” Raven said.

“We’ve got to think of a name and fast! And it has to be a good one!” Sarah said. 

Each teen put their hands on their foreheads, trying to think of a good band name. Corey blurted out, “Critical Hit!”

“No.” The other three shook their heads. 

Seconds later Corey blurted out another name, “Core Circle!”

“What?” Raven asked. “That doesn’t even make sense.”

“Hey! I’m not good with coming up with things on the fly!” Corey pouted.

“Project X!” Sarah suddenly let out. 

The other three members looked at her, then they thought on it.

“Hmm… you know, Project X does sound pretty cool.” Raven said.

“Really cool.” Corey agreed. “What do you think, Van?”

“Project X… Project X… I like it. That’s what we’re called, Project X!” Van approved. 

“Good, now let’s go tell it to Mr. Strone.” Sarah said.

The band ran back into the auditorium and back in front of Mr. Strone. “Sir, our band name is Project X!” 

Mr. Strone wrote the name on a piece of paper. He then shook each members’ hands. “Project X, thank you for helping us get this festival back up. We shall see you in six days.” 

Mr. Strone and the two men left the auditorium and the band followed afterwards, heading into the truck. After dropping Raven back off at her house (and keeping her keyboard in the truck due to needing it for practice at Van’s this week), Jerome and the three others made their way home. 

“I honestly knew you guys would make it.” Jerome said as they were halfway home.

“You really think so, Dad?” Van asked.

“Van, you practiced your butts off last night and you were spot on today. But I knew you could do it.” Jerome said. “You did what you could to put the festival back on and not only is it back on, but you guys are headlining it.”

“Now we have all week to practice for it.” Sarah said.

“You’ll need to fix a set list that has at least a hour and a half worth of material.” Jerome informed. “The last band usually does play the longest.” 

“I don’t think we have enough songs for a hour and a half show!” Corey said.

“Then if we don’t that means we could learn some new songs.” Sarah chuckled. 

Jerome switched on the radio which was set on 104.6 “The Rock Fox”, Cherry Falls’ rock music station as well as possibly the best radio station around. Breaking Benjamin’s “So Cold” was just ending and when the song ended, the voice of the teens’ favorite DJ, Riley “Thunderstruck” Schaffer, was heard. 

“And that was Breaking Benjamin’s “So Cold” right here on 104.6 “The Rock Fox”. Before we go to break, we just received some news. Two days ago, the Hard Rockin’ Falls Festival was considered cancelled due to the headliner, The Nameless, dropping out. Well good news to all who were upset about it… we have received news from festival organizer Chad Strone that the festival is back and a new headliner was just recently found! According to Strone, this band goes by the name of Project X and they are a band of 16 year olds who and I quote, “Have a special talent in music. I think the fans at the festival are going to be in for a treat.” I’m going to be there at the festival, so I’m really excited to see what these bands are going to bring, especially this Project X. Alright, after the break we’ll hear some Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, and Megadeth, right here on “The Rock Fox”. Don’t go anywhere.”

“…Did you hear that?!” Corey shouted excitedly.

“News apparently got out fast.” Sarah chuckled. Just then her phone rang. “Hello? …We heard it! Did you hear it? …Yeah, we got out of town fifteen minutes ago and news is already getting out. …We’ll see you at practice tomorrow, Rave. Bye.” Sarah turned to Corey and Van, “Raven was listening to the radio and she heard what we heard.”

“Yep, news is definitely getting out fast.” Van said with a smile. “Falls Festival, here we come.”


	3. Preparing For the Concert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They are headlining the show alright, but can the kids get prepared enough for it?

**Chapter 3: Preparing For the Concert**

**Monday**

It was study hall time for the tenth graders at Peach Creek High School and half of the tenth grade students were in the library while the others were in the cafeteria. In the library, Van and Corey were sitting at a table figuring out songs for their set list while Sarah was at a computer making a logo for the band. Sarah had headphones in as she worked, but she didn’t notice a certain tall kid with a green jacket and a red and white striped shirt sneaking up behind her. 

“HI SARAH WHAT CHA DOIN’?!” Ed shouted, appearing next to Sarah. 

“AH!” Sarah jumped. The librarian, Mrs. Kline, shushed the two due to them making loud noises. “Ed, don’t do that!” Sarah whispered.

“Sorry!” Ed whispered back. “What cha doin’?”

“I’m making a logo.” Sarah answered. She turned over to Van and Corey and whispered, “Hey guys, how does this logo look?”

Van and Corey moved over to Sarah’s computer and looked at what she made. The band name Project X was typed in a cool gray font and the background was black and white, but the design sort of looked like a sheet of rocks. 

“Looks awesome, Sarah.” Van approved. “What do you think, Core?”

“I really like it!” Corey agreed. “Email it to Raven since it may be her study hall time too and if she likes it email it to Strone.” 

“Got it.” Sarah saved the logo, then put up her school email and emailed the logo to Raven’s school email. As she did that, Eddy and Edd walked towards the group, seeing their taller friend watching what Sarah did. 

“What are you doing, Lumpy?” Eddy asked Ed.

“I just wanted to see what older, nicer Sarah was making.” The one-eyebrowed oaf said. He looked at the logo, “Project X? What’s a Project X?” 

“Wait, I heard that name!” Eddy said. “I heard it on the radio yesterday! Isn’t Project X the band that was just found to headline the Falls Festival?” 

“I thought you didn’t listen to rock music, Eddy.” Corey said. 

Eddy shrugged, “I listen to some. Anyway Sarah, why are you making a logo for Project X?”

“Did they ask that you make a logo for them?” Edd asked. 

“Well…” Van began with a slight smirk. “She’s making that logo because… WE’RE Project X.”

“…You’re joking.” Eddy said, not believing him.

“I don’t think they are, Eddy.” Edd said. “Are you seriously going to headline the rock festival on Saturday?” 

Van nodded, “We are guys. Me, Corey, Sarah, and Raven are Project X.”

The three Eds stayed silent for a few seconds, then Ed all of a sudden shouted, “Hooray!”

“Shh!” Mrs. Kline shushed him for his outburst. 

“Well congratulations, fellows!” Edd said to the band. “If you were that impressive to get the headlining spot, there’s no doubt you’ll do good.” 

“Boys, we are so going to Cherry Falls Saturday to see these guys play live!” Eddy said happily. 

“You’ll need to have fifteen bucks for each ticket though, Eddy.” Sarah chuckled.

“Fifteen bucks for one measly ticket? What a rip!” Eddy pouted.

Unbeknownst to them, someone was listening to the conversation a few feet away. That someone was the jock Kevin along with his friend Rolf. With a smirk, Kevin led his friend towards the direction of the group.

“So Culmer, you and your friends are going to headline the Falls Festival huh?” Kevin asked, then let out a laugh, “Oh this is going to be good!”

“And it seems the Ed Boys are interested in this doohickey of a music gathering.” Rolf said. 

“You don’t think we’re good enough for this, Kevin?” Corey asked.

“Are you kidding? I bet you guys won’t even last the first song on the stage without the fans booing you!” Kevin continued laughing. 

This let out a bit of a spark in Eddy and he got in front of Kevin. “That’s what you think? Well I know that these guys know they are good enough! So how about a bet, Shovel-Chin?”

“A bet? Good idea.” Kevin’s smirk stayed on his face. “I bet the fans will either boo or leave the crowd floor by the time the third song starts.” 

“And I bet that Van and the guys will get the crowd moving by the third song!” Eddy gave his side. “I’m placing my bet at five dollars.”

“Ten dollars.” Kevin shot back.

“Fifteen dollars!” Eddy countered.

“…Fifty dollars!” Kevin countered, his higher price surprising the others.

“FIFTY?!” Eddy shouted, getting shushed by the librarian.

“What’s the matter, Dorky?” Kevin mockingly asked. “You don’t have that much faith in your friends?”

Eddy shook his head, “No! You win if the crowd doesn’t like them by the third song, I win if they get the crowd pumping by the third song! Deal?” Eddy held out his hand.

Kevin shook Eddy’s hand, sealing the deal, “Deal. We shall see how this goes on Saturday, shall we?” He looked at the three band mates, then turned around with Rolf and walked away. 

“That square-headed jerk…” Eddy growled. He went over to Van and said, “Rock the crowd out of the park or I’m going to have to cough up fifty bucks!” 

“Don’t worry, Eddy. We plan to.” Van assured.

“Just got a reply from Raven, she likes the logo.” Sarah informed.

“Email it to Strone.” Van said. Sarah did just that and as soon as she hit send on the message, the bell rang, signaling the end of study hall. Once the email was sent, Sarah logged off the computer and the friends went their separate ways to their next class.

After school, the three band members went right to Van’s house. They waited for Raven to arrive there and once she did, they got down to the basement and looked over their set list. 

“Okay, we got all the songs we’re going to play except for the last one.” Van said. “Although I am not one hundred percent sure we should start off with “Drivel”. I mean, not a lot of people know The Union Underground, so do you think it’s wise we start with that one?”

“It has a good feel to it, I think it’ll work as the first song.” Raven said. 

“Let’s see during practice and we’ll make sure.” Sarah said.

“Alright. Now, what song should be the last one of the show?” Van asked. “Needs to be a big, energetic one.” 

Corey looked at another list of songs, “How about “Battery” as the last song? It’s big and it’s energetic.” 

“We can’t play “Battery” at its full speed, Corey. I don’t think we can do it.” Sarah said.

“Well we do have five days to practice, maybe if we can play it right, that can be the last song, then if we can’t we’ll think of another one.” Van suggested.

“Okay, might as well.” Raven nodded.

“Practice time, fellas!” Van clapped his hands and stood up. The teens got their instruments and began practicing their set list. They continued practicing until seven when dinner was ready, then after dinner they practiced more until ten when they all headed home. If they were headlining a big festival five days away, they were going to need to practice a lot. 

\----------

**Tuesday**

“Hey kids, before you go down and practice, I got something in the mail for you.” Jerome said when the band arrived home after school. He handed Van a large envelope. 

Van opened up the envelope and he pulled out about two dozen fliers for the Falls Festival. The festival logo was seen on the very top and on the bottom were names of some of the bands. Right in the middle was the Project X logo, all big and catching to the eye. 

“That was fast.” Sarah said.

“Mr. Strone called me shortly after I checked the mail and he said as soon as they got your logo, the advertising team worked all night to get the fliers made.” Jerome said. “Why don’t you go around town and put them up?”

“Let’s do it, guys! Let’s let people know of us!” Corey said.

And that they did. The teens went and put the fliers up everywhere and anywhere they could in town; from the candy store to the sandwich shop, from the gas stations to the music store, and on lampposts and trees. It took about forty-five minutes when they were finished and they ended up keeping two to put up at school the next day. 

“Now that the fliers are up, time to go practice.” Van said as they got back to his house and headed towards the basement. 

“Not yet, kids!” Jerome called out, stopping them. He had on a big smile as he approached them. “I got two things to tell you.”

“What is it, Jerome?” Raven asked.

“First thing…” Jerome started as his smile got even bigger. “While you were putting up fliers, I got two calls. The first call was from a reporter from the Peach County Times newspaper. Right after school tomorrow, and I do mean RIGHT after school, which means Raven will probably have to get out a little early to get there on time, you will be having an interview in the school auditorium. The reporter wants to interview you guys for the paper!” 

“An interview for the paper?!” Sarah shouted.

“You’re joking, Dad!” Van said.

“I am not joking, Van.” Jerome said. “At 3:15 tomorrow right after school, you four have to be at the auditorium for a newspaper interview.” 

“Holy crap, we’re going to be in the paper!” Corey jumped with excitement.

“What’s the second thing?” Raven asked, eager to hear what the other call was.

“The second call was from Mr. Strone. Now Thursday you guys will be having another interview at the “Rock Fox” radio station. Riley Schaffer wants to interview you on the radio.” Jerome said.

“Whoa whoa whoa!” Corey stopped him. “Riley Schaffer? You mean… Riley “Thunderstruck” Schaffer?!” 

“That’s the one.” Jerome nodded. “You are set to be there at 6:30 and the interview will start at seven o’clock.” 

“Two interviews in two days?!” Sarah asked. “Holy crap!” 

“So tomorrow after school, you have an interview with the Peach County Times and Thursday you have a radio interview at “The Rock Fox” at seven.” Jerome recapped. “Okay, NOW you can go downstairs and practice.” 

The four teens headed to the basement to practice. Like the previous day, they practiced until it was time for them to stop and head home. 

\----------

**Wednesday**

3:15 struck and the dismissal bell rang, signaling the end of classes at the high school. Students ran into the halls towards their lockers.

“Interview time!” Corey shouted as he ran out of his classroom and towards his locker, with Sarah and Van following behind from their classes.

“Not yet, Corey. I don’t see Raven at all, so I don’t think she’s here yet.” Van said, grabbing his backpack from his locker. 

“I think I see her parents’ car pulling up.” Sarah pointed to the school’s front doors a few feet away. A black car stopped in front and Raven got out. 

The violet haired keyboardist ran inside the school, so fast that it looked like she was running from something. She stopped in front of her band mates and took a deep breath. “Am I late?” She asked. 

“You’re just in time, Raven.” Sarah said.

“Now that we’re all here, we should probably head on down to the auditorium.” Van suggested.

The band headed towards the auditorium and went in. When they did however, no one was in there except a janitor cleaning up the floors. 

“Seems the reporter isn’t here yet.” Raven asked. 

“Probably just running a little late.” Van said. “Let’s sit down and wait.”

They sat in chairs on the floor as they waited for the reporter to arrive. Not two minutes later, the auditorium door opened. A woman with long curly black hair wearing a black work dress and glasses walked in holding a large bag. She saw the band and walked over to them.

“Are you Project X? The band I’m going to interview?” She asked.

“That’s us.” All four teens said at the same time.

The reporter gave a welcoming smile and shook each members’ hands. “Miranda Cowley, Peach County Times reporter. How about we move up to the stage? Make us more comfortable.” 

The band followed Miranda to the stage and she took out a notepad, pen, and a recorder once they sat down. When they were ready, she began the interview. 

Forty-five minutes later and the interview was finished as well as successful. But Miranda wasn’t finished with the band just yet as she took out a camera and a tripod from her large bag. “Mind if I take a few pictures of you together?”

“Sure. What kind do you want?” Van asked.

“Find a good place either in here or outside of the school and I’ll take normal cool band pictures.” Miranda answered. 

The band led Miranda outside of the school and they stood against a wall. As Miranda got the tripod and camera set up, the band stood in the order of Corey, Van, Sarah, and Raven. 

After fiddling with the camera for a little bit, Miranda was ready, “Alright, pose for me!” She called out behind the camera. Van held out his fist and made himself look angry, Sarah held up a metal horns sign with a small smirk, Raven crossed her arms and made herself look tough, and Corey simply just smiled and put his hands in his jacket pockets. Miranda took several shots, asking them to pose differently with every one.

“Okay, that’s good!” Miranda said when she was finished. She picked up her things and shook each of the teens’ hands again. “Thank you so much for letting me interview you guys. You shall see the article in the paper tomorrow.” 

“You’re welcome, Ms. Cowley.” Van said.

As Miranda got into her car and drove off, Van called his dad and told him the interview was over. Now they could go back to his place and rehearse.

\----------

**Thursday**

“Look who’s on the front page of today’s paper!” Kess said in a singsong voice as she showed the band the newspaper once they got home from school. The front page had a picture of the four and in big bold black letters the headline said, “Young Local Band Set to Headline Rock Music Festival”. 

They read the whole article from start to finish and they were impressed. “This is really good.” Raven commented.

“People are going to see this for sure!” Corey said. 

“Okay kids, remember you have to be at the radio station in Cherry Falls by 6:30, so you have about…” Jerome checked the clock. “Two hours at most to practice. So if you’re going to rehearse today, better start now because it‘ll probably be late by the time we get home later. We’re leaving at ten till six.”

The teens went downstairs to practice and they went through all the songs in their set list non-stop. By the time they were done, it was 5:20 and they had time to spare before they had to leave for Cherry Falls. They spent the last thirty minutes going over songs they had a bit of struggle on, one of them included “Battery”. When Jerome called them up, saying it was time to go, they got into the truck and off to Cherry Falls they went. 

“There it is, “The Rock Fox” radio station.” Jerome said as they drove towards the station. They always drove past the station whenever they came into town, but they never went inside of it. It was a one floor station, but it was big in size and it was next to a tall radio tower. On the front of the station in big white letters read “104.6 The Rock Fox” with a fierce looking red fox with a spiked collar next to it. Jerome drove into the parking lot and parked the truck and everyone walked out to go inside.

They went through the door of the station and the first person they encountered was Mr. Strone, who gave them a welcoming smile. 

“Hey, you made it on time.” He said, shaking the band’s hands. 

“The radio interview with us still on?” Sarah asked.

“Yes, Spencer is just finishing up his shift.” Mr. Strone answered, talking about Spencer Anderson, the DJ currently on the air right now. The band looked through the glass window where they could see the recording booth and saw Spencer, a DJ who had a red and black mohawk, wore a t-shirt with a skull on it, and had on studded wristbands. 

While they waited for seven o’clock to roll around, a man wearing a black baseball hat with black hair tied back into a ponytail and an Iron Maiden t-shirt ran into the station. He adjusted his hat as he got in.

“Thank goodness I’m not late, I can’t miss the interview I need to do.” The man said. But as soon as he spoke, the band instantly knew who he was. He was none other than the one and the only, Riley “Thunderstruck” Schaffer! 

“It’s okay, Riley. There’s only fifteen minutes left.” Mr. Strone turned to the band. “This is the band you’ll be interviewing tonight.” 

Riley turned to the teens and smiled, “So this is the soon-to-be-famous Project X, huh? I saw the article about you in the paper this morning, really excited about this interview.” He shook each of their hands.

“You’re our favorite DJ, Riley!” Corey said happily. 

“I have a lot of fans apparently.” Riley chuckled. “Oh, Spencer’s going to be done here.” They listened to what the mohawked DJ was going to say to end his shift.

“And that was classic Metallica with “Seek And Destroy” here on 104.6! That concludes today’s six o’clock rock block and Riley “Thunderstruck” Schaffer will be coming in with a very special interview in just a few minutes. Don’t miss out on it! I will surely be listening. I am Spencer Anderson and I am out of here. Good night, everyone!”

The On Air sign turned off and Spencer made his way out of the recording booth. Once he went out, Riley led the teens into the booth and began talking to them.

“Here’s how it will go, I’ll interview you guys and depending on how much time we have in the end, I’ll see if people would like to call in for questions. Think you guys can do that?” Riley asked.

“I think so.” Van said.

“Good. Go ahead and take a seat. We’ll start the interview in five.” Riley said as he took a seat and put on his headset. The band sat down and put their headsets on as well.

Seven o’clock hit and it was time for the interview. The On Air sign turned on and the beginning riff for AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” played as the radio voice said, “R-O-C-K-F-O-X! Cherry Falls’ best rock station! The best music in all of the Falls area, hosted by Riley “Thunderstruck” Schaffer! “Thunderstruck” rocks on 104.6, “The Rock Fox”!”

“Hey hey hey, how’s it going fellow listeners?!” Riley excitedly greeted the radio listeners. “This is Riley “Thunderstruck” Schaffer here on “The Rock Fox” and today we’re doing something really special. It’s rare to have a band come into our studio and to have us interview them, but I said it on Tuesday, I also said it yesterday, and today is the day. I currently have in the studio with me is the band that will be headlining the Hard Rockin’ Falls Festival this Saturday and you may have also read about them on the front page of the Peach County Times this morning. Welcoming to the studio is Project X! Good to see you guys here.”

Van, Sarah, and Raven responded with a “Thank you, good to be here.” while Corey just went “Hi!” into the microphone. 

“First off, for those that didn’t read you in the paper today, let’s begin with your names and what each of you does in the band.” Riley nodded over to Van. 

“I’m Van Culmer and I’m one of the vocalists in the band as well as lead guitarist.” Van introduced himself.

“I’m Sarah Watkins and I’m the other vocalist and the bassist.” Sarah said.

“My name is Corey Dominic and I am the drummer!” Corey said excitedly. 

“I’m Raven Wells and I play keyboards.” Raven said. 

“Glad to meet you four.” Riley said. “Since news got out Sunday that the Falls Festival was back on after you four impressed Mr. Strone with your music, people have really been buzzing about you guys, especially when they heard that the band was a group of 16 year olds. I heard you did the audition so you would hope to give the other bands that were in the festival a second chance. Did you expect to headline the festival at all?”

“Honestly we were shocked when Mr. Strone told us we had the headlining gig.” Van said with a chuckle. “I mean the previous night we were practicing those three songs we were going to play for hours until we got them down right, but we didn’t think we were actually good enough for a headlining spot. But yes, when we heard the festival was cancelled because of The Nameless dropping out, we were upset like many others, but we decided to do something about it because we are that passionate about it. We believe that all bands need a chance to get out there and perform for people and earn some fans.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more.” Riley said. “Now I read in the newspaper article you guys play covers. What type of bands shall we expect to hear from you Saturday?” 

“You’ll mostly be hearing us play some hard rock and heavy metal songs from bands like Metallica, Disturbed, Breaking Benjamin, and others. But you may also hear some Def Leppard and Journey; we mix up our styles a little bit.” Sarah answered. 

“We do different types of rock, but the majority of our set list is hard rock and heavy metal.” Raven added in. 

“We even do songs from bands you may have not heard of before.” Corey added in as well. 

“Definitely one impressive music collection for sure.” Riley nodded. 

The radio interview went on for exactly forty-five minutes, same amount of time the newspaper interview went. They had enough time at the end for questions from callers and surprisingly people actually did call in questions. When eight o’clock hit, the interview was finished and Riley thanked the band for the time. He even gave each of them a “Rock Fox” t-shirt and autographed each one. 

The teens walked out of the station and headed home feeling accomplished and proud. Two more days left until the big show.


	4. Time to Rock!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day of the festival is finally here. Will Project X succeed in putting on a great show? Let's find out!

**Chapter 4: Time to Rock!**

“And… time!” Raven called out, stopping a stopwatch next to her keyboard. The teens just finished their last run-through of their set list. Right when they got home from school, they went to work and they even played through the set list twice. They started at 3:45 and it was now 7:30.

“What’s our time, Rave?” Corey asked.

“…One hour and fifteen minutes exactly!” Raven announced with a smile. 

“That’s perfect!” Sarah said. “Festival, here we come!” 

The band put their instruments down as Van sat down with them and said, “Guys, tomorrow is the big day, and we are going to rock that fairground! But how about just to be safe, we do one final rehearsal tomorrow morning before we go? How’s ten o’clock sound?”

“I think the one last rehearsal is a good idea since we may not be able to rehearse when we’re there.” Raven answered. 

“I don’t understand why we have to be there so early though.” Corey said. “I mean, we have to be there at two o’clock, but we’re the last band on.”

“Guess it’s security procedures and making sure we arrive.” Van said with a shrug. “Anyway, let’s all stop for the night and join our families.”

Sarah, Raven, and Corey left their instruments in the basement for next morning’s final rehearsal as they headed home. As Kess was in the kitchen preparing dinner, Van went into his room and laid down on his bed. There was no doubt he was nervous for the big day. Tomorrow was the big show and he had a good feeling they were going to do great, but he still couldn’t help getting butterflies in his stomach.

There was suddenly a knock at his door. “Who is it?” Van asked.

“It’s me, son.” Jerome called from outside the door. He opened the door and walked in. “Just came in to say dinner is almost ready.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Van said with a slight sigh. 

Jerome saw Van sigh, “Nervous about your performance tomorrow?”

“Big time.” Van said. “I know we’ll do good, but I’m still feeling this way.”

“It’s pre-gig jitters. Everyone has them before a first gig.” Jerome said, sitting on the edge of Van’s bed. “Did I ever tell you how nervous I was before my first gig? I was so nervous that I thought once I got onto the stage I’d throw up.”

“Did you throw up?” Van asked with a slight chuckle.

Jerome shook his head, “Nope. Once we got onto the stage and started playing, my nervousness was gone. And the crowd cheering for us made it easier.” Jerome then remembered something, “Oh! I almost forgot! While you were at school Tuesday your mother and I got you something. Cover your eyes.” 

Van did as his dad told him and covered his eyes with his hands. He tried to peek an eye out, but Jerome caught him, “Ah! No peeking!” Van waited patiently for what his dad was going to show him. After a few seconds, although it seemed like forever, he finally heard Jerome come back into the room and say “Okay, open them!”

Van opened his eyes and what he saw in front of him made his jaw drop a little bit. In front of him was a hard black guitar case and on the top had the word “Ibanez” written in big white letters. 

“Open it. There’s something inside.” Jerome said with a grin. 

“No way…” Van said quietly. He undid the locks on the case and when he lifted up the lid, his jaw completely dropped. Inside the case was same six-string Ibanez guitar in black that was in that magazine picture. The one he wanted! The body looked completely brand new and the strings looked new as well. “Dad… You didn’t need to do this…”

“We didn’t need to, but we wanted to.” Jerome said. “Think of it as a first gig present. We know how much you wanted to buy it yourself, but we also knew how much you wanted it in general.”

Van slowly and carefully took the guitar out of the case and set it on his lap in awe. He strummed the strings and heard its glorious sound. “It looks great and it sounds great. How did you scrape up over six hundred dollars for it?”

“We took some out of our savings for it.” Jerome said. “You going to play with this at the show tomorrow?”

“Oh you bet!” Van smiled a huge smile. 

“Van! Jerome! Dinner’s ready!” Kess called from the kitchen. Van put his new guitar back in the case and followed his dad out of the room.

\----------

Sarah sat in her room on her bed as she was waiting for dinner to be finished. Her headphones were on and songs from the set list blasted into her ears with her singing along with her parts out loud. She was nearing the chorus of “Bitter” by The Union Underground when her door opened and her brother Zack walked in.

“Hey, Squirt.” He said with a smile. 

Sarah gave a small glare for that nickname, but it subsided as she took the headphones off and asked, “What are you doing here?”

“Mom invited me over for dinner, and I wanted to give you this.” Zack removed his hand from behind his back and handed Sarah a pack of purple colored bass strings. Sarah looked in awe at the pack before taking the strings out carefully to look at them. Five bass strings in the color purple, her favorite color. “I know you really like purple, so when I saw them I had to get them for you. They’ll look perfect on your black bass.”

“Thanks Zack.” Sarah said with a smile. “I’ll put them on during rehearsal tomorrow.”

“Excited for the show?” Zack asked.

“Excited and nervous.” Sarah answered. “I hope we rock the crowd really good.”

“I’m sure you will.” Zack wrapped his arm around his sister, “Mom and I will be in the crowd, so we’ll be sure of it.” He stood up. “Let’s head to the kitchen, dinner should be ready by now.”

Sarah got up and followed her brother. 

\----------

“Corey! Don’t eat so fast!” 

Corey was rapidly gobbling down on his food. He would take huge bites of his chicken leg followed by stuffing huge spoonfuls of mashed potatoes in his mouth along with loudly chomping on his corn on the cob. 

“Corey! Don’t eat so fast!” Corey’s mother Leanna repeated with her voice louder. 

“Huh?” Corey looked up, midway through eating his corn. “Oh, sorry Mom.” 

“I think I know why he’s eating like that.” Corey’s dad Simon said, “You nervous about your show tomorrow, Corey?” 

“Yeah, big time.” Corey sighed a little bit. “My stomach is making somersaults right now!”

“You guys are going to stink!” Corey’s 10 year old sister Kylie yelled. Corey tried his best to not glare at her.

“Kylie!” Leanna shouted at her. She turned to Corey, “If you’re feeling nervous, you can go ahead and practice on your electric drum kit.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Corey took a few quick bites of food before wiping his mouth off with his napkin and leaving the table. He headed into the storage room where his electric drum kit was in the middle of multiple rarely opened boxes. Before sitting behind it, he grabbed his iPod and headphones. He lowered the volume on the music so it was loud, but quiet enough so he could hear his drumming over the song. Once he was set, he played about five songs with shear determination before stopping. 

Corey looked up at the room ceiling, “…Showtime.” He whispered.

\----------

“Hey Leon!” Raven greeted the tattooed worker at the Cherry Falls music store as she walked in. 

“Hey Raven.” Leon greeted back. “I read about your band in the paper yesterday and heard you on the radio.”

“You coming to see the show tomorrow?” Raven asked.

“My girlfriend and I are going for sure.” Leon smiled. “Why are you here so late?” 

Raven shrugged, “Just thought I’d look at the keyboards again.”

“Again?” Leon chuckled. “You must really want a new keyboard.”

“I’ve had that one since I was 7, so yeah I’ve been thinking about that.” Raven said.

Leon rested his arm on a nearby amp, “Tell you what, Raven. If you and your band impress my girlfriend and I tomorrow night, next time you come into this store I will give you a new keyboard for free. On the house.”

“I don’t think my parents will approve of that.” Raven said.

“Ah tell them it’s a gift, if you guys do good that is.” Leon said. “I’ll even pay out of my own wallet.” 

“Trust me, Leon, I think you’ll be impressed.” Raven said before walking to the keyboards section in the store. After about twenty minutes of messing around with the keyboards, she headed out the store and made her way home. 

\----------

The next morning came and the band was right back at Van’s place at ten o’clock. They ran through their set list one final time and they even had enough time to practice “Battery” twice, just to make sure they got it down. The band was satisfied with their final rehearsal and once they put their equipment in the truck, they headed on out to Cherry Falls. 

“Whoa…” The teens stared in awe out the truck windows as they drove into the Cherry Falls fairgrounds where the Falls Festival was taking place. The Hard Rockin’ Falls Festival was different from the usual music festival. Sure it had the usual concession stands, merchandise stands, and raffles happening, but since this festival was held at the fairgrounds every year, the rides and games from the fair were opened up as well. Good deal for the concert goers. 

“The festival started at seven this morning, but there is a lot of people walking in right now.” Sarah said watching the dozens of people walking into the fairgrounds.

“Look at the parking lot! Every spot is filled up!” Corey shouted. There was no empty spot in the parking lot at all. News vans and other media vans were driving around trying to find a spot. There were even people that were walking from a mile away! “Where the heck are we supposed to park?!”

“I don’t think we park here. I think the bands park somewhere else.” Van said.

“And you are correct.” Jerome said as he pointed at a sign that said “Band Parking” with an arrow pointing to the direction they needed to go. Jerome turned and followed the direction. They eventually made it to an empty area where some of the other bands were arriving as well. Once they parked, the band got out, grabbed their equipment, and headed over to a bearded man with long brown hair and tribal tattoos on his arms who was sitting in a desk and holding a clipboard in his hands.

“Band name?” He asked in a gruffy voice.

“Project X.” All four members said at the same time.

The man looked through the clipboard and searched through it. “…There you are, Project X.” He stamped the page with a stamp and pointed behind him, “Vinnie over there will show you where to go.”

The band nodded and walked over to a man who was also holding a clipboard. He had long black hair, sideburns, and he wore a Metallica “Ride the Lightning” shirt and dark blue jeans. He greeted the young band with a polite smile. 

“You must be Project X.” He greeted with a polite and comforting voice. “I’m Vinnie and I will show you where you will be until you have to go on stage for show time. Follow me.”

Vinnie led the band to an area about a mile or two away from the stage. It was an area with a dozen of trailers with a band name on each one. Each trailer a mobile shed next to it for bands to put their equipment in. Their trailer was the first one on the left and after they put their equipment in the shed they went into the trailer.

“Wow! This looks awesome!” Corey said when they walked in. 

“You guys don’t need to stay in here all day if you don’t want to.” Vinnie said before giving each member some sort of pass to put around their necks. “This is to show proof that you’re part of the show. You can go down and have fun with everyone else, and since you’re a band here you can get discounts on everything in the festival.” 

“Sounds great.” Raven said.

“What time are we on?” Sarah asked.

Vinnie looked at his clipboard, “The last band before you ends at 7:50 and you’re on at 8:25. So if you’re going to have fun out there during the other bands, I suggest you be back here at the trailer an hour before you go on. When 7:45 hits, I’ll tell you when it’s time to get to the stage. See you guys later.” Vinnie closed the door and left.

“Well, how about we go down and have fun in the festival?” Van asked, holding up his pass. “Vinnie says we get discounts.”

“Sounds good to me. Let’s go.” Raven said.

“Alright! Nachos and orange soda, here we come!” Corey cheered as they walked back out of their trailer to join the concert goers. 

\----------

“Project X! The last band is finishing their set right now! These stagehands will help you with your equipment and lead you to the stage!” Vinnie knocked on the band’s trailer door, nearly startling the band as they just got back to the trailer a half and hour ago.

Corey looked at the digital clock on the wall, “Holy crap! It’s almost time for us to go on already?!”

“Yep, it’s 7:45.” Sarah said. “We better get down there so they can put our stuff up.”

“And to think that when we were messing around in the festival we said time was going too slow.” Raven chuckled.

The teens followed the stagehands with their instruments two miles to the stage. By the time they made it backstage, the band on stage just finished up their final song. The band thanked the crowd, made their way off the stage, and Van Halen’s “Runnin’ With The Devil” played over the loud speakers as the stagehands switched equipment. 

_THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!_

That was the sound Corey’s heart was making in his chest when he peeked out of the curtain and saw how packed the crowd was. More and more people were joining the crowd, and they were the ones that were going to play last! These people were here to hear them! To hear Project X!

“Guys… look at the people out there…” Corey turned back to his pals, wide-eyed. The other three went ahead and took a peek out of the curtain.

“Holy crap…!” Raven exclaimed.

“Look at all those people!” Sarah said.

“There’s got to be more than a thousand people there!” Van guessed.

“This concert area holds over five thousand people. I bet there’s about that much out there.” Riley Schaffer passed by them and said with a wink. 

“Five thousand-” Corey continued to be wide-eyed. 

“Relax, Corey. I don’t think it’s really THAT much.” Sarah assured.

“It is a lot though.” Van said. “Hey look! We even got our own backdrop!” Van pointed to the stage where a large backdrop of the Project X logo was lowered into place. 

“Ten minutes till show time!” Vinnie called out.

Right when Vinnie did that, Corey began breathing out quick, deep breaths.

“Corey, calm down!” Raven shouted.

“I’m so nervous!” Corey shouted. Raven rolled her eyes and handed Corey his bottle of orange soda which he took a huge gulp out of. “Better… a little.” 

“We’re all nervous, Core, but we’ll do great.” Van encouraged.

“I know we will for sure.” Sarah said as she jumped up and down in place. 

“Five minutes!” Vinnie called out five minutes later.

“Huddle!” Van called to his friends and they got together. “Okay guys, this is our first gig. We’ve got a huge crowd out there for our first show and we’re going to give them all we got! We’re going to play our hearts out! We did good during our rehearsals, but tonight is where we give it our all!”

“Let’s do this!” Corey shouted.

“Let’s rock!” Raven exclaimed.

“We’ll rock this festival!” Sarah shouted.

“PROJECT X!” All four shouted as they broke the huddle. Van grabbed his brand new guitar, Sarah grabbed her bass with the new purple strings on them, Corey grabbed his drum sticks and twirled them in his hands, and Raven just cracked her hands getting them ready.

Five minutes were up and Riley went onto the stage like he did with the other bands and spoke into the microphone, “How is everyone tonight?!” The crowd cheered loudly in response, causing the four teens to get goosebumps. “Well this is the last band for tonight and this is our headliner! You’ve heard them being talked about all week and we are finally going to hear them tonight! Cherry Falls, please welcome these four inspiring 16 year olds, this year’s Hard Rockin’ Falls Festival headliner… Project X!”

A HUGE roar of the crowd erupted into the band’s ears as they ran out on stage and took their positions; Van on stage left in front of a microphone, Sarah on stage right with a microphone, Raven on the left with her keyboard, and Corey behind his kit on the drum risers. As soon as they took their positions, and right on cue, they began playing “Drivel” at full swing. 

\----------

One hour and twenty minutes later and the crowd was going nuts for Project X. They played each song perfectly, each one giving out more and more of each member. Sarah even started doing “donkey kicks”, kicking herself in the behind, when she wasn’t singing; that’s how into her playing she got. When they finished “Enter Sandman”, the second to last song of the show, they walked off the stage, acting like it was the end of the set. But the crowd kept chanting “Encore! Encore!”, hoping they would come back out to play another song. After hearing that, the band walked back out and played “Battery” to complete perfection. The song ended with everyone going crazy on their instruments and giving one last heavy note before officially ending their performance. 

“Thank you, Cherry Falls!” Van shouted, then pointed to his band mates. “Raven Wells on keyboards, Corey Dominic on drums, Sarah Watkins on bass and vocals, and I’m Van Culmer on guitar and vocals! We are Project X! Goodnight everyone!” 

With those final words, the four headed backstage and as soon as they were off the stage, they each took a deep breath and shouted.

“HOLY CRAP!” Sarah shouted. “What a show!” 

“We rocked that house!” Raven shouted. 

“Wow! I honestly can’t believe how amazing that felt… Dad was right, once you go out there and hear the crowd, the nervousness goes away.” Van said.

The only one that wasn’t freaking out at the moment was Corey, who was staring blankly into space. He looked like he was about to scream any second. 

“Corey? Yoo hoo.” Raven waved her hand in front of Corey’s face. 

“Corey, the show’s over, you can scream now.” Van said.

As soon as Van said that, Corey let out a loud scream and yelled, “OH MY GOD, THAT WAS SO AWESOME! THIS IS THE COOLEST FEELING EVER!”

“HEY GUYS!” The band heard a few voices behind them. Running up to them were all their parents, Sarah’s brother, Raven’s brother, the Eds, Jonny 2x4 with Plank, and even Kevin, Rolf, and Nazz. 

“That was great!” Raven’s mom Kaitlyn said. 

“That show was so rad!” Nazz commented.

“HUG!” Ed wrapped all four members into a bone crushing bear hug. 

“ED! …You’re… breaking our backs!” Van said in pain. 

“Plank headbanged to every song!” Jonny said.

“Impressive performance, you four.” Edd commented. 

The band talked with the rest of their friends and families. But as they talked, they noticed Kevin not looking to happy.

“What’s up with Kevin? Did he not like us?” Raven asked. 

“Oh no, he liked the show. He’s just mad because I won the bet.” Eddy said with a smirk. He held up his hand in front of Kevin. “Come on, Shovel-Chin, don’t be a poop-face. Cough it up.”

With an eye roll and a groan, Kevin reached into his pocket and literally slapped a fifty dollar bill into Eddy’s hand, “Fine…” He then walked away from everyone else. “Dork.”

“Sore loser.” Eddy laughed, looking at his money.

“You four were amazing!” Another voice was heard approaching the band and that voice belonged to Mr. Strone who had a huge smile on his face. “I’ll say this, kids. I am so sorry of how I treated you when we first met. You definitely proved your talents tonight big time.”

“If you don’t mind us asking, Mr. Strone, do you know how many people were in the crowd when we played?” Sarah asked.

“Well, according to my colleagues, the head count for your set was…” He grinned a smile so large that it almost looked like the Grinch’s smile from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”. “…Three thousand people!” 

“HUH?!” All four asked at the same time.

“Did we hear you correctly?!” Corey asked, cleaning out his ear. 

“You’re exaggerating! There is NO WAY three thousand people were in the crowd watching us!” Sarah said, not believing it. “One thousand I can believe, but THREE thousand?” 

“I’m serious, kids. We head counted every audience member and it was three thousand and not one person left during your set.” Mr. Strone said seriously. “Two thousand more and you could’ve filled the whole concert area.” 

Project X’s jaws dropped to the floor, still surprised at the amount of people that watched them. “No wonder the cheers of the crowd were so loud.” Van said. 

“You got a pretty good crowd for your first gig, way bigger than the crowd on my first gig.” Jerome chuckled. 

“The news about you guys really intrigued a lot of people.” Mr. Strone said. A pause happened before he spoke again, “So what’s next for Project X after their successful first show?” 

The four looked at one another and Van shrugged, “I don’t know. Guess it’s back to my basement and playing for fun.”

“I have a suggestion.” Mr. Strone said. “Make an album, even an album with just covers, go around and play shows, get yourself known around the world. You kids have got great talent, don’t put it to waste. And if you need a manager, you can always call me.”

They all nodded, then Van looked back at his dad, “Thanks for the manager offer, but I think we have one.” Jerome smiled back at his son. 

“Suit yourself. Oh one more thing I need to give you before you go.” Mr. Strone took out a few dollars bills and handed them to Van. “Here’s your pay for being a part of the show.”

Van counted the money before offering it back to Mr. Strone, “Thank you, sir, but it won’t be necessary. We’re not interested in the money.” 

“No I insist. All the bands in the festival got paid and you have yours.” Mr. Strone pushed the money back to the band. 

“Very well, we’ll take it.” Van said. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you.” Mr. Strone continued to smile and walked off.

“Well, guess it’s time for us to get our stuff and head home.” Sarah said.

“I’m going to take you guys to dinner before we head home.” Jerome said. “Get your stuff and we can go.” 

After the band got their instruments, Project X got into Jerome’s truck and headed out of the fairgrounds. As they drove out, they took one last look at the venue. This was a night they would never forget.

_Act 1 Epilogue:_

_Three months after the events of the Cherry Falls Hard Rockin’ Falls Festival, Project X released a self-titled cover album which was recorded in an abandoned house in Peach Creek. They went on a small tour playing in local music shows, clubs, and parties, gaining more into their fan base. Six months later, they released a second cover album titled Project X II. Shortly after the release of Project X II, the band added a fifth member into their line-up: longtime friend Liam Takashi on rhythm guitar._

_That was only the start, and another event one year after the festival helped Project X get even bigger. To be continued in Act 2..._


	5. Meeting Liam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One year after Project X's performance at the Hard Rockin' Falls Festival, we meet the band's fifth and newest member, Liam Takashi.

**Chapter 5: Meeting Liam**

_**One Year Later:** _

_Gypsy, sittin' lookin' pretty_  
 _The broken rose with laughin' eyes_   
_You're a mystery, always runnin' wild_   
_Like a child without a home_  
 _You're always searching, searching for a feeling_   
_That it's easy come and easy go_

_Oh I'm sorry but it's true_   
_You're bringin' on the heartache_  
 _Takin' all the best of me_   
_Oh can't you see?_  
 _You got the best of me_   
_Whoa can't you see?_

_You're bringin' on the heartbreak_   
_Bringin' on the heartache_   
_You're bringin' on the heartbreak_   
_Bringin' on the heartache_   
_Can't you see?_

The Def Leppard song “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak” played loudly through his computer speakers as 16 year old Liam Takashi was lying down on his bed, running a hand through the blonde part of his dark brown and blonde two-toned short hair. He just got home from school a few minutes ago and he really needed a rest after the test he had today.

Liam was the rhythm guitarist for Project X. He became the fifth member of the band four months ago when the guys decided to add in another member. He was a longtime friend and he wanted to play in a band so it worked. Liam had fun with them, but the people that didn’t like him being in the band were his parents. His parents were very old fashioned, they disapproved of everything he did; from pranking to hanging out with his friends after school, and they especially didn’t approve of him playing in a rock band. They believed people who played in rock bands were bound to be future trouble makers and criminals. Liam really wanted to grow his hair long like Van and Corey, but they didn’t even approve of that! Whenever his hair got even just a centimeter passed chin length, they would take him to the barber shop and cut it short. And when he dyed half of his hair blonde, they were furious with him, but they let it go since it wasn’t permanent color and it would eventually wash out. Unknown to them however, Liam would secretly re-dye it whenever it looked like it was fading out. 

Liam started playing guitar when he was 11. He wasn’t as good as Van, but that’s why he played rhythm guitar. His parents didn’t approve of him playing either, but he got lessons from a friend who was three years older than him. On his twelfth birthday, his friend got him a guitar since Liam didn’t have one at home to practice with and when he came home with it they thought he stole it (and they still think so). But he would always practice whenever he could.

Liam looked at his clock and noticed it was 3:50. “Oh crap! I’m going to be late for band practice!” He said sitting up. He grabbed his light blue Fender Stratocaster from the stand and put it in it’s case. Slinging the case over his shoulder he was about to head out of his room, but then…

“LIAM THEODORE TAKASHI! DOWNSTAIRS NOW!” Liam’s dad hollered from downstairs.

“Oh no… What did I do now?” Liam groaned in annoyance. He knew whenever his parents called him by his full name they were not happy with something. Hanging his head low, he opened his door and headed downstairs into the kitchen where his parents, Morgan and Elena Takashi, were sitting at the table. Morgan was holding a paper in his hands. “What?” Liam asked plainly.

“Sit down, Liam.” Morgan ordered. Liam reluctantly set down his guitar and sat down in one of the chairs. Morgan slapped the paper in front of Liam. “Your report card for the first quarter came in today.”

Liam looked at his report card for the first quarter of this year’s first semester. There was one A and two Cs, and the rest were Bs. He raised an eyebrow, wondering why his parents called him down for this, “What’s the big deal?” He asked. “I got pretty good grades for the first quarter.” 

Morgan narrowed his eyes, “You had As and high Bs on your last report card last year, now you have almost all Bs and two Cs! Your grades have been dropping, Liam, and do you know why?” 

“Dad, Bs and Cs aren’t bad.” Liam said, not answering his dad’s question. 

“You’ve been spending more time with your friends playing your rock and heavy metal music than studying!” Morgan barked. “Before you were doing your music, you had great grades, but now they’re dropping!” Liam opened his mouth to talk, but Morgan kept yelling, “You think you’re going to band practice tonight? I don’t think so! Get upstairs and study!” 

Liam gave a sigh and simply said, “Nope.”

“Liam, your grades better approve by the end of the semester! Get upstairs and study!” Morgan yelled.

Liam stood up and held up his report card, “One A, two Cs, and the rest being Bs is not a bad report card! You just want me to get perfect grades so I can go to a business college! I don’t want to become an accountant like you, Dad!”

“Then what DO you want to do, Liam?” Elena asked. 

“Music.” Liam said. “I want to play music.”

Morgan scoffed, “Music business is for trouble makers, especially rock n roll and heavy metal music. Besides, you do know musicians don’t make as much money as they used to?”

“We don’t play music for the money, Dad. We play music because we like to play it. We like playing in front of people.” Liam grabbed his guitar and slung it over his shoulder. “Now if you excuse me, I have to go to band practice. We’ve got a gig in Orange City tomorrow.” Liam turned on his heel and headed out the door, but not before ruffling his 4 year old sister Kisha’s hair.

\----------

“Good rehearsal, guys! We are ready for tomorrow!” Van commented as Project X finished their rehearsal for the night. 

Project X had a show the next day after school. They were going to play at a rock club in Orange City called RockWorks. They’ve played there four times before and the crowd got bigger every show. Every time they played they would change their set list around; tomorrow they were going to start the show off with Five Finger Death Punch’s “Never Enough” and end it with Disturbed’s “Deify”. 

“Hey Liam, I noticed when you came here, you where in a bit of a bad mood.” Sarah pointed out. 

“Huh? Oh… yeah. My parents were at me for playing music again.” Liam said with a sigh. “They said my grades were bad when they really weren’t.” 

“Why do they not want you to play music?” Corey asked.

“They’re old fashioned, that’s why.” Liam said. 

“Maybe they’re just worried about you.” Van suggested. “Parents do that when they are not sure about the career their kids are choosing.”

“If they were worried, they wouldn’t have to yell at me so much.” Liam said.

“I think they’ll eventually give up and let you do what you want.” Raven said. 

“I hope so.” Liam said. The teens put up their instruments and went home for the night.

_**Meanwhile in Los Angeles:**_

A group of people were standing inside of the currently empty Los Angeles Convention Center, studying every inch and area of the place. One of the men Mr. Bakowski, who’s long light brown hair was tied into a low ponytail and had some stubble on his chin, clapped his hands together with a smile. “Everyone, I think we have the perfect place for this year’s Battle of the Bands!” The annual Los Angeles Battle of the Bands competition was in a month and they had to find a place to hold it. 

“We do have over fifteen bands participating this year, so this will be great for sure.” One of the female workers commented. 

“Back to the office, everyone!” Mr. Bakowski said before leading his colleagues out and heading back to their work. 

Back in his office, Mr. Bakowski was looking over all the bands that would be participating in the competition this year. He listened to one song on each of every bands’ websites and indeed had good hopes. _“This is going to be a good year.”_ He thought, but a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. “Come in!”

The door opened and a young worker with obviously dyed blonde hair, looking no younger than 18, walked in with a CD case. “Sir, I know you said we are no longer accepting applications for the Battle of the Bands, but there is one band I think we should ask to participate. 

“Who’s the band, Adam?” Mr. Bakowski asked.

Adam showed his boss the CD case for Project X’s self-titled first cover album. “This is Project X. They came on the scene over a year ago and released two cover albums, but they still haven’t gone anywhere. And they’re really good!”

Mr. Bakowski looked at the case and gave a shrug. “Might as well give them a listen.”

After listening to the whole album from start to finish and watching a clip of Project X’s performance from the Falls Festival with Adam, Mr. Bakowski was amazed at what he heard.

“So these kids still haven’t gone anywhere you said?” He asked.

“They’re still playing around in clubs and local shows.” Adam answered. “We should ask them if they’d like to be apart of this.”

Mr. Bakowski nodded and looked up the band’s website. “Their manager is Jerome Culmer.” He grabbed the phone and contacted his secretary, “Ms. Miles, I want you to find the phone number of a Mr. Jerome Culmer in a town called Peach Creek, find it fast please!” He hung up the phone and looked at Adam, “Maybe with this competition, they can have their chance of getting out into the world.”


End file.
